Buoyed by the massive critical and commercial success of Slumdog Millionaire, director Danny Boyle appears to be preparing production for a sequel to Trainspotting, the movie that remains the iconic title of 90s British cinema. "Danny seems to be edging more towards it," said Robert Carlyle, who starred in the 1996 film as the psychopathic Begbie. "After his success at the Oscars, he should be able to pretty much do as he wants."

The new film, Porno, would be based on the 2002 novel by Irvine Welsh, which follows his characters – Begbie, Renton (played by Ewan McGregor in the original film), Sick Boy (Jonny Lee Miller) and Spud (Ewen Bremner) – a decade after their original antics. In the story, Sick Boy gets the others involved in shooting an amateur porn movie.

It remains to be seen whether McGregor would return to the role of Renton. He and Boyle famously fell out when, following their collaborations on Shallow Grave, Trainspotting and A Life Less Ordinary, Boyle cast Leonardo DiCaprio in The Beach rather than McGregor. The actor has said that the novel Porno "didn't move me as much" as Trainspotting had.

Talking to the BBC about his role in Stargate: Universe, Carlyle said he "would jump through hoops of fire backward for Danny Boyle. I would do Porno tomorrow for nothing." Begbie, he added, was "probably the only character I would ever want to revisit, because I do believe that there's an awful lot more mileage there".

Boyle has discussed script treatments of Porno in the past, while Welsh has also reported working on a prequel to Trainspotting. The1996 film was voted first place in the Observer's recent survey of the best British films of the past 25 years, voted for by critics and film experts.